first patent for a flying disc toy was born (Flying
Saucer).
PARTS OF DISC
Lip or Rim: The outside wall of the disc.
Flight Plate: The flat surface on the top of the
disc. The disc design (hot stamp) is placed on the
flight plate.
Lines of Headrick: The flight rings are named
after Ed Headrick, the perfecter of the flying disc.
Adding these raised ridges helped stabilize disc
flight. When Wham-O's patent for the flight rings
expired, Discraft added them to the Ultra-Star
and became the go-to Ultimate disc.
Line of Shelton: The mold line that runs around
the lip of the disc. Named after Jay Shelton, a
professor of physics and one of the first people to
study the flight characteristics of a disc. Not to
mention, a world distance record holder, plus a
champion disc golfer & an individual Frisbee
world champion.
Navel: The center of the disc, There is usually a
small, subtle spot left over from the
manufacturing process.
Script Band: Acts like a big flight ring with an
imprint of the disc name and model.
Slope of Morrison: Named after Fred Morrison,
the inventor of the Frisbee. This is the bent slope
from the flight plate to the lip/rim. It was a major
improvement from pie tins and popcorn lids and
kept the disc from turning on its side on every
throw.
IMPORTANT EVENTS IN ULTIMATE’S HISTORY
1940 – Frisbie Pie Company sold pies to
neighboring Yale students. The owner of the pie
company is William Frisbie. The students threw
the pie tins to each other for fun because they
actually flew pretty well.
1948 – Fred Morrison researched how to make a
flat object fly straighter and further, and thus the
1951 – The first mass-produced disc toy, called
the Pluto Platter, was sold.
1957 – Frisbie Pie’s closed down. Yale students
nicknamed the infamous pie-tins Frisbies, which
caught on enough for Whamo to change the
name of the toy to “Frisbee.”
1966 - The invention of Ultimate, also known as
"Ultimate Frisbee," occurred within a year of the
first mechanical patent on a flying disc, by Ed
Headrick.
1968 – In Maplewood, New Jersey at Columbia
High School Joel Silver and few other students
first introduced a Frisbee-based game to the
student council.
1969 – The first team had been formed. They
practiced on the high schools parking lot.
1970 – Joel Silver, Buzzy Hellring, and Jon
Hines created the 1st edition rules. The first
interscholastic game took place between
Columbia High and Millburn High. Columbia won
43 – 10
1972 – First intercollegiate game between
Rutgers and Princeton, located at Rutgers
University. Exactly 103 years earlier the two
teams battled it out on the same site in the first
American Football game. Rutgers won in both
sports by a margin of two points.
1975 – First organized tournament took place.
Eight teams attended at Yale University. Rutgers
won yet again.
1979 – Ultimate Players Association (UPA) was
founded, now called USA Ultimate.
1983 – The First World Ultimate Championship
which was located in Gothenburg, Sweden.
1984 – The World Flying Disc Federation was
founded, the international governing body for all
disc sports.
1989 – Ultimate was shown as an exhibition
sport during the world games in Akita, Japan.
2001 – Ultimate is officially a medal sport in the
world games in Japan.
2012 – Over 100,000 players across the globe.
Present – Almost every college has some
presence of Ultimate Frisbee, whether it be an
official team, club, or people that just meet up to
play. Local town leagues are popping up
everywhere and many high schools are starting
to add Ultimate into their athletic programs.
Ultimate Related companies are on the rise
attempting to earn market share in the rapidly
expanding market. Who knows where Ultimate
will be in another 80 years. Just respect the spirit
of the game and never stop playing, the rest is
history.
 ULTIMATE IN 10 SIMPLE RULES
1. The Field
A rectangular shape with end zones at each end.
A regulation field is 64 m long by 37 m wide, with
end zones 18 m deep.
2. Starting Play
Each point begins with both teams lining up on
the front of opposite end zone lines. The defense
throws (“pulls”) the disc to the offense. A
regulation game has seven players per team.
3. Scoring
Each time the offense catches a pass in the
defense’s end zone, the offense scores a point.
The teams switch direction after every goal, and
the next point begins with a new pull by the team
that just scored. 4. Movement of the Disc
The disc may be advanced in any direction by
completing a pass to a teammate. Players may
not run with the disc. The person with the disc
(“thrower”) has ten seconds to throw the disc.
The defender guarding the thrower (“marker”)
counts out the stall count.
5. Change of Possession
When a pass is not completed (e.g. out of
bounds, drop, block, interception, stalled), the
defense immediately takes possession of the disc
and becomes the offense.
6. Substitutions
Players not in the game may replace players in
the game after a score and during an injury
timeout.
7. Non-Contact
Players must attempt to avoid physical contact
during play. Picks and screens are also
prohibited.
8. Fouls
When a player initiates contact that affects the
play, a foul occurs. When a foul causes a player
to lose possession, the play resumes as if the
possession was retained. If the player that the
foul was called against disagrees with the foul
call, the play is redone.
9. Self-Officiating
Players are responsible for their own foul and line
calls. Players resolve their own disputes.
10. Spirit of the Game
The foundation of the rules in ultimate is Spirit of
the Game, which places the responsibility for fair
play on the player. Competitive play is
encouraged, but never at the expense of respect
between players, adherence to the rules, and the
basic joy of play.
THE RULES AND REGULATIONS
THE GAME
Ultimate Frisbee is a fast moving, competitive,
noncontact sport played by two
eight-man teams. The sport has a great deal of
freedom and informality implicit
in the rules. Primary use among these is the spirit
of sportsmanship, which enables the honor
system to be effective.
The object of Ultimate Frisbee is to gain points by
scoring goals. The Frisbee
may only be passed, and a goal scored when a
player successfully passed the
Frisbee to a teammate in the end zone, which
that team is attacking. The team with the most
points is declared the winner.
EQUIPMENT
Individual players may wear almost any aids they
wish, including hats, gloves, or
helmets, as long as they do not endanger the
safety of any other player. For
example, shoes with cleats are permissible, but
ones with sharp spikes are not.
No player may carry any sort of stick, bat, or
racket.
PLAYING FIELD
The playing field may have any surface
whatsoever, including grass, asphalt,
sand, snow, or the wood of a gymnasium floor.
The main playing field for the
official Ultimate Frisbee game 64 m long and 37
m wide. Both end
zones are 37 m wide and 18 m deep. If a pass is
completed outside the
lateral boundary, it is considered incomplete and
the defensive team gains
possession of the Frisbee. In order to be
considered in-bounds, a player must
land with both feet touching the inside or on the
boundary line. Should the
Frisbee land outside the lateral boundary, it is
returned to play on the main field
at the point where the Frisbee went out of
bounds. The player throwing the
Frisbee in-bounds must have one foot on the line.
OFFICIALS
Self-officiated.
TIME
A game of Ultimate Frisbee lasts 40 minutes of
playing time divided into 20-
minute halves. Half-time lasts for five minutes.
The clock starts after every
throw-off when the receiving team touches the
Frisbee. The clock stops after
every goal, at the end of each period of play, for
timeouts, injuries, and on
every whistle that lasts two minutes of the game.
The clock starts when the
Frisbee is thrown in or when both teams are
ready to resume, and play continues at the
location of the Frisbee when the play stopped.
Each team is permitted two time-outs per half
and one overtime period, each
lasting two minutes. Time-out may be called by
either team after a goal and
before the ensuing throw-off. A team must be in
possession of the Frisbee in order to call a time -
out during play.
In the event of a tie at the end of regulation time,
there will be an overtime
period lasting five minutes. The captains flip a
coin to determine which team will
throw-off. If there is no winner at the end of
overtime, overtimes are continued until the tie is
broken at the end of one.
THROW OFF
Play begins with the throw-off. The captains of
the two teams flip a coin to
determine which team will throw or receive, or
choice of goal. The teams shall
alternate throw-offs at the beginning of each
period. All players must be on or
behind their own goal line until the Frisbee is
released. The receiving team must
stand on their own goal line without changing
relative position.
A player on the goal lone throws the Frisbee
towards
the other team. As soon as
the Frisbee is released, all players may cross the
goal lines. No player on the
throwing team may touch the Frisbee in the air
before it is touched by a member of the receiving
team.
The receiving team may catch the Frisbee or
allow it to fall untouched to the
ground. If a member of the receiving team
successfully catches the throw-off,
that player has possession at that point. If the
receiving team touches the
Frisbee and fails to catch it, the team which
threw-off gains possession of the
Frisbee where it is stopped. If the Frisbee is
allowed to fall untouched to the
ground, the receiving team has possession where
it is stopped.
If the Frisbee goes out-of-bounds before crossing
the goal line, the receiving
team makes the immediate decision of: 1)
gaining possession at the point the
Frisbee went out-of-bounds, or 2) having the
Frisbee throw-off again. If the
Frisbee goes out-of-bounds after crossing the
goal line, the receiving team gains possession on
the goal line at the nearest corner.
Each time a goal is scored, the teams switch
direction of their attack, and the
team, which scored throw-off on the signal of the
receiving.
THE PLAY
The team, which has possession of the Frisbee,
must attempt to move the
Frisbee into position so that they may score a
goal. A player may propel the
Frisbee in any way he wishes. The Frisbee may
never be handed from player to
player. In order for the Frisbee to go from one
player to another, it must at sometime be in the
air.
No player may walk, run, or take steps while in
possession of the Frisbee. The
momentum of the receiver, however, must be
taken into consideration. Should a
player takes steps obviously not required to stop,
play stops, he returns to the
point where he gained possession, and play
resumes when both teams are ready.
The player in possession may pivot on one foot,
as in basketball. The thrower
may not change his pivot foot. Only one player
may guard the person in
possession of the Frisbee and must be two yards
away from the thrower. The
Frisbee may not be wrenched from the grasp of
an opposing player, or knocked from his hand.
The defensive team gains possession whenever
the offensive team’s pass is
incomplete, intercepted, knocked down, or goes
outof-bounds. A rolling or
sliding Frisbee may be stopped by any player, but
may not be advanced in any
direction. After the Frisbee is stopped, no
defensive player may touch it.
Possession is gained at the point where the
Frisbee is stopped. Any member of
the team gaining possession of the Frisbee may
throw it.
A player may catch his throw only if the Frisbee
has been touched by another
player during its flight. Bobbing to gain control is
permitted, but tipping to one’s self is not allowed.
ENDZONES
Any time a team gains possession in the end zone
which they are defending, the
player may choose to resume play where the
Frisbee is stopped, or at the goal
line. A player may carry the Frisbee up to the goal
line provided that he
approaches it perpendicularly. The player may
not pass the Frisbee as he
approaches the goal line. If a team gains
possession in the end zone, which it is
attacking, the Frisbee is carried perpendicularly
to the goal line, and play resumes immediately
from the goal line.
FOULS
A throwing foul is called only by the player fouled.
It is defined as any physical
contact between offensive and defensive player
sufficient to deter the flight of
the Frisbee. Contact occurring during the
followthrough is not sufficient
grounds for a foul. If the pass is completed, the
foul is automatically declined, and play proceeds
without stopping.
A foul is also called when physical contact occurs
as a result of the offensive or
defensive players playing the man instead of the
Frisbee. This includes pushing, grabbing, kicking,
clipping, holding, submarining, etc.
When a player is fouled, play stops, player gains
possession at the point of the
infraction. Play continues when both teams are
ready. Should a foul occur in the end zone,
possession is regained at the goal line.
A stalling violation occurs when a player guarded
by another player holds onto
the Frisbee for ten seconds. If the Frisbee has not
been released at the end of the count it is turned
over to the defense at that point.
SCORING
A goal is scored when an offensive player has two
feet in the end zone after
receiving a pass from a teammate. A player in
possession may not score by
running into the end zone. The team that scores
receives one point.
SUBSTITUTIONS
Substitutions can be made only: 1) after a goal
and before the ensuing throw-off, 2) to replace
an injured player, or 3) after periods of play 4)
Substitutions.
On the 7th defensive foul of each half, the Frisbee
will be automatically advanced
to the defensive goal line. In the event that time
has expired, one additional possession will be
awarded to the offended team.
Fouls by the offense will result in loss of
possession.
OFFENSIVE STRATEGY
Vertical Stack – this is an offensive strategy in
which players line up vertically in the middle of
the field. This gives them space on each side of
the vertical stack in which to run to in order to
catch the Frisbee.
Horizontal Stack – there are several ways to
play this offensive strategy. A basic one is to have
four cutters lined up evenly spaced horizontally
across the field. In this setup, there are three
handlers also lined up horizontally where they
can move the disc side to side until a play
develops. Cutters can cut in pairs with one
coming in towards the thrower and the other
cutting away towards the end zone.
DEFENSIVE STRATEGY
Man-to-man defense (aka Man D) – This is a
defensive strategy, where defensive players
select a
specific person to play defense against for the
entire point. People usually line up against the
person they want to guard on the other side of
the field.
Zone defense (aka Zone D) – There are many
different ways to play this defensive strategy.
Everyone must work together to make this
defense work. Zone defense is most effective on
windy days and it is designed to make the short
offensive game more challenging.
ULTIMATE FRISBEE POSITIONS
• Handlers - A handler in
ultimate frisbee is someone who
has good disc skills. They will be
responsible for fielding the pull,
keeping possession of the disc,
and running the offense.
• Cutters - A cutter is someone
who will typically be downfield
of the disc and the handlers.
When the pull comes, cutters
need to get downfield and start
preparing to cut for the disc.
• Poachers - camping out on the
field, usually in a cutting lane,
rather than playing tight
defense on the cutter the
defender is supposed to be
guarding.
Hammer = To throw the hammer, you need to
grip it just like you would in a forehand. The
difference is that you don’t hold it parallel to the
ground. Instead, you should hold it slightly above
your hand in an angled position. To throw it, snap
your wrist downwards with your arm following
through the motion.
CATCHING
Pancake Catch - (or crocodile, as we call it on
our team :D) is the safest and sure type of catch.
That’s what you should want to do most of the
time – especially as the beginner player. It’s best
suited for the waist and chin level throws. You
should try to get your body in front of the disc for
additional security. To catch the frisbee you need
to anticipate the trajectory of the disc. Once you
are close to it, make a clapping motion vertically
and trap the disc. Sometimes by putting too
much pressure you might cause the disc to fall
out of your hands.
Two Handed Catch - It’s best used for the below
the waist and above the chin throws. It might
seem a bit challenging at first, but it’s easy to
master. This type of catch is also a bit faster than
the pancake. Sometimes it can be very helpful –
you might snatch the disc before your marker
does. To catch a disc you need to grip it with your
thumbs on the inner side of the frisbee and the
rest of your fingers on the top of the frisbee.
One Handed Catch - This kind of catch might be
considered as advanced. The beginner players
are advised to do a one handed catch only if
necessary. It should be used only when you catch
the disc with both hands. The situations could be
high throws, low throws and throws behind you.

TYPES OF THROWING AND CATCHING SKILLS

THROWING

Backhand - The first step is to establish if you’re

right or left-handed. Then, while holding the disc,
place your thumb on the topside and the
remaining four fingers on the inner side. Stand
straight and then move your body to a forty-five-
degree angle to make the throw. Bend your wrist
and elbow so it’s in front of the disc and then in
a one, steady motion throw the disc in the desired
direction. The key in doing it correctly is to bend
and snap your wrist to add the spin. Make sure
that the frisbee is parallel to the ground.

Forehand - First, you need a good grip on a disc.

The easiest way is to hold your hand in a gun-like
manner. Next, grip the disc on the top side of the
disc. The middle and index fingers should be on
the underside of a disc, along the rim. To throw
you need to extend your arm away from the body,
pull the wrist back and snap it forward with your
arm following the motion. Just like in backhand,
the disc needs to be parallel to the ground. In
order to make it work, remember to put the spin
on the disc.